Mexico

[canadiangirl78]

Hey! By The Way, Can someone please tell me once landed in Canada as Permanent Resident (for the 1st time), HOW LONG approx. it takes to be in immigration ( where they verify your address in Canada, etc). I need to know how many minutes aprox Am I gonna spend with them and What kind of questions they are gonna ask me, because I have. connecting flights so tight, that's why I'm asking...I arrive from Mexico city to Vancouver at 10:40, and my flight to Calgary is at 12:10, considering that I have to be at least 1 hour prior to my flight, and document my luggage, I wouldn't like to miss my flight!!, so If somebody knows.. how long do you usually spend with the officer at the border when you land as a PR for first time?, just to know if I'm gonna make it. thanks!!

Landing was not even ten minutes. That isn't counting customs or standing in line for the first booth that sends you to the office where people land. It's fast. Just verifying stuff and giving a little info. But we had no line, it was almost midnight. But everyone says its like 15 min.

 

[bttmntl]

Thanks LeisaP, Eduram and OhCanadiana for advice on the hair! I feel so horrible that I didn't ask you for specifics before he shaved it all off! He would have been much happier if he hadn't...

 

[OhCanadiana]

Thanks for this info OhCanadiana. Do you have any more insight into what actually goes on during the application review process? What is the IRPA? And when you say they work with external partners, I'm guessing these partners are local to each country? I'm concerned because here in Nicaragua, things tend to happen verrrrrry sloooowly and if CIC is waiting for Nicaraguan partners to help with the processing/reviewing, I should probably be prepared to wait for a long time.

IRPA is the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, found at http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/index.html

There are several parallel paths to ensuring eligibility, including confirming sponsor's ability to sponsor (due to prior undertakings, background check, Canadian status, etc); verifying relationship is genuine (and not entered in for purposes of immigration convenience); background checks and security and criminality checks to ensure the applicant is admissible (and not excluded) by IRPA.

There are numerous and diverse sources of information, some of which are listed below:
Canadian sources
CSIS
RCMP

Municipal and provincial police forces
CIC Information Service
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Foreign sources
Government agencies responsible for national security (counterparts of CSIS)
Local and national police forces
Government agencies responsible for the foreign service or foreign affairs
Government agencies responsible for border controls

International Sources
NCIS (National Criminal Intelligence Service)
Europol (European Police Office)
Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization)
OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)
ICPC (International Centre for the Prevention of Crime)
IALEIA (International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts)
UNCIPC (United Nations Center for International Prevention of Crime)
UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute)
CICP (United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention)

How long you have to wait depends on what they find in initial background checks, what resources they specifically use for Nicaraguans, and what if anything they need to exclude.

 

[OhCanadiana]

Hey! By The Way, Can someone please tell me once landed in Canada as Permanent Resident (for the 1st time), HOW LONG approx. it takes to be in immigration ( where they verify your address in Canada, etc). I need to know how many minutes aprox Am I gonna spend with them and What kind of questions they are gonna ask me, because I have. connecting flights so tight, that's why I'm asking...I arrive from Mexico city to Vancouver at 10:40, and my flight to Calgary is at 12:10, considering that I have to be at least 1 hour prior to my flight, and document my luggage, I wouldn't like to miss my flight!!, so If somebody knows.. how long do you usually spend with the officer at the border when you land as a PR for first time?, just to know if I'm gonna make it. thanks!!

In the best case, there is no line and the Border Officers will process you quickly, verifying your CoPR and processing your B4.

However, be prepared to take the next flight if there's a long line for immigration before you get to secondary or if there is someone ahead of you in secondary and you need to wait. If you know when the next flight is, hopefully you can remain calm and not worry about any delays should they happen.

Is your ticket from Mexico to Calgary or did you buy separate tickets?

 

[canadiangirl78]

Thanks LeisaP, Eduram and OhCanadiana for advice on the hair! I feel so horrible that I didn't ask you for specifics before he shaved it all off! He would have been much happier if he hadn't...

He sounds like my husband. I made my husband go to my salon for his wedding haircut and they cut it too short. He was SO unhappy but what can you do days before a wedding! However, I think it looks really really good in our wedding pictures. But I felt so bad at the time because who wants to be unhappy with their looks on their wedding day? Luckily it will grow and he will be ok. =)

 

[OhCanadiana]

He sounds like my husband. I made my husband go to my salon for his wedding haircut and they cut it too short. He was SO unhappy but what can you do days before a wedding! However, I think it looks really really good in our wedding pictures. But I felt so bad at the time because who wants to be unhappy with their looks on their wedding day? Luckily it will grow and he will be ok. =)

And now you have a great story to tell too.

 

[canadiangirl78]

And now you have a great story to tell too.

I guess I should have just let him go to SuperCuts like he wanted to. =) It was kinda weird that he looked so different when I said I DO. But he photographed well.

 

[OhCanadiana]

I guess I should have just let him go to SuperCuts like he wanted to. =) It was kinda weird that he looked so different when I said I DO. But he photographed well.

Sooooo....did he keep the new style or go back to the SuperCuts one?

 

[muchacha]

I guess I should have just let him go to SuperCuts like he wanted to. =) It was kinda weird that he looked so different when I said I DO. But he photographed well.

lol... guys can be so particular about their hair. Too funny.

 

[muchacha]

IRPA is the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, found at http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/index.html

There are several parallel paths to ensuring eligibility, including confirming sponsor's ability to sponsor (due to prior undertakings, background check, Canadian status, etc); verifying relationship is genuine (and not entered in for purposes of immigration convenience); background checks and security and criminality checks to ensure the applicant is admissible (and not excluded) by IRPA.

There are numerous and diverse sources of information, some of which are listed below:
Canadian sources
CSIS
RCMP

Municipal and provincial police forces
CIC Information Service
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Foreign sources
Government agencies responsible for national security (counterparts of CSIS)
Local and national police forces
Government agencies responsible for the foreign service or foreign affairs
Government agencies responsible for border controls

International Sources
NCIS (National Criminal Intelligence Service)
Europol (European Police Office)
Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization)
OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)
ICPC (International Centre for the Prevention of Crime)
IALEIA (International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts)
UNCIPC (United Nations Center for International Prevention of Crime)
UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute)
CICP (United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention)

How long you have to wait depends on what they find in initial background checks, what resources they specifically use for Nicaraguans, and what if anything they need to exclude.

Thank you! As always, a wealth of information. The reason I asked is that I began to think, just today, that maybe the 25 month wait listed for the old Guatemala office wasn't due to under-staffing or other problems with the Guate Visa Office, but rather some other "hidden" delays that are specific to the Central American countries. And that even though these applications are now being processed in the faster Mexican office, the same (25 month) delays might still apply to us due to some unseen reason?? But there doesn't seem to be anything country-specific in your list, although who knows the processes that each of these sources use....

Am I just rambling or does any of that make sense?

 

[OhCanadiana]

Thank you! As always, a wealth of information. The reason I asked is that I began to think, just today, that maybe the 25 month wait listed for the old Guatemala office wasn't due to under-staffing or other problems with the Guate Visa Office, but rather some other "hidden" delays that are specific to the Central American countries. And that even though these applications are now being processed in the faster Mexican office, the same (25 month) delays might still apply to us due to some unseen reason?? But there doesn't seem to be anything country-specific in your list, although who knows the processes that each of these sources use....

Am I just rambling or does any of that make sense?

Makes total sense. And they do rely on several foreign sources (the formatting doesn't make it obvious but it's there) -

Foreign sources
Government agencies responsible for national security (counterparts of CSIS)
Local and national police forces
Government agencies responsible for the foreign service or foreign affairs
Government agencies responsible for border controls

So it depends on the exact agreements in place and timing for each individual's background check. FWIW, I hypothesize that this explains the 'batch' processing that seems to exist where several PPRs (and requests for info) come out at once. It also explains why in-depth security checks can take years (e.g., for former military or cases with 'red flags').

 

[canadiangirl78]

Sooooo....did he keep the new style or go back to the SuperCuts one?

Supercuts!

 

[Sylvana]

Lol, I assume you are talking about me. Sorry if I offended you Edgar. In my comment I didnt say (or mean to imply) that Mexico City is very dangerous. All I was commenting on was CICs new choice of avaliable choices of where to get medicals done in Mexico. I feel that places that were taken off i.e Merida, would be a much more desirable location to get your medicals done compared to Mexico City and Cuidad Juarez. Actually, I wasn't just talking about the DF's crime rate (which I was actually aware of) I made that comment more on the idea of how confusing it would be for someone who has not spent a lot of time there and could wander into a very bad area.. since good areas and bad areas seemed to be mixed together in Mexico, which could be problematic (just like any other city)

and p.s My hubby never said anything about Mexico City being unsafe, That comment was based on my own opinion. Considering he lived there and his family is from there, he has a quite optimistic view of Mexico city, but I have also heard other Mexicans state that Mexico City is unsafe.

Anywho, I am the first one to advocate safety in Mexico, sorry if I didnt explain my comment well.

well, if you are talking about Df, then you r talking bout Mexico city, it gets me a bit offended as well the fact that u compare Ciudad Juarez with Mexico City, I was born and raise in Mexico C. and never in 22 years got stolen or sth like that. Kind of gets annoying that people still think that Mexico city can be terribly dangerous when is way to far to be like that now in the days...I LoVE DF!!

 

[bttmntl]

lol canadiangirl... that's a cute story. And it reminds me how we are all going through this together. *sniff*

 

[muchacha]

Makes total sense. And they do rely on several foreign sources (the formatting doesn't make it obvious but it's there) -

Foreign sources
Government agencies responsible for national security (counterparts of CSIS)
Local and national police forces
Government agencies responsible for the foreign service or foreign affairs
Government agencies responsible for border controls

So it depends on the exact agreements in place and timing for each individual's background check. FWIW, I hypothesize that this explains the 'batch' processing that seems to exist where several PPRs (and requests for info) come out at once. It also explains why in-depth security checks can take years (e.g., for former military or cases with 'red flags').

Hmmm... interesting. Is there any evidence to suggest that for visa offices that process many countries, the wait times actually vary by country? For example when they say they process X% of applications in 5 months, X% in 6 months, X% 8 months etc etc, I wonder if those correlate in any way with countries of origin? I know they also have to do with the complicated-ness of the case, but I wonder if they also have to do with these processing waits.... any ideas?